For the first time in his career, LeBron James opted into his player option. James is now on an expiring $53 million contract, and his future with the Los Angeles Lakers could not be more up in the air.
James is reportedly keeping an eye on the Lakers’ moves this offseason to see if he can compete for a championship in the purple and gold. LA’s focus, though, is to build around their new star, Luka Doncic, and they want to maintain flexibility to add another star next to him soon.
With James likely retiring soon, it makes sense as to why the Lakers don’t want to go all-in on the short term. This won’t appease the forward, though, as he looks to finish his career with a championship or at least the chance to compete for one.
The chances of LeBron James leaving the Lakers increase by the day
LA has struck out on a number of names this free agency period. While it is a weaker class, the Lakers struck out on top targets like Brook Lopez and Clint Capela, who spurned them at the start of free agency for other teams.
Additionally, the Lakers lost Dorian Finney-Smith, their best 3 and D wing, to the Houston Rockets. LA has no avenue to replacing his production on the roster and Finney-Smith was the only reason why the Lakers perimeter defense stayed afloat.
LA did sign DeAndre Ayton to fill their center hole, but unless Rob Pelinka has something big up his sleeve, the Lakers are seriously lagging behind their West counterparts.
The Thunder are returning everyone from their championship team. The Rockets added Kevin Durant and a host of depth. The Timberwolves are coming off back-to-back conference finals appearances, and their nucleus remains intact.
The Warriors and Clippers are older, but both have better all-around rosters than the Lakers. Even teams on the rise, like the Spurs, with Victor Wembanyama and a balanced roster, and the Mavericks, with Cooper Flagg and Anthony Davis, are threats. Even teams on the rise, like the Spurs, with Victor Wembanyama and a balanced roster, and the Mavericks, with Cooper Flagg and Anthony Davis, are threats.
The bottom line is that the West is going to be a bloodbath this season. This will probably be the toughest version of the conference we have seen since the 2000s and maybe the early-mid 2010s. As currently constructed, the Lakers have too many flaws to compete for a top seed.
LeBron James wants to win and win now
It doesn’t seem that the Lakers want to operate that way to build around him. They have their new superstar in Doncic to focus on and seem to want to wait to maintain flexibility to star chase in 2026 and 2027.
Barring a big 11th-hour move from Pelinka, which we have seen before, LA’s offseason has been lackluster thus far. Lackluster won’t be good enough for James at this stage. If things don’t change soon, then James could force his way out of LA and onto a new team for the 25-26 season, and that chance is only getting higher by the day.